Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of ‘traditional build’, is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well, but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky…
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Reviews
A rare pleasure
A literary confection... Fortunately, since texts aren't cakes, there is no end to the pleasure
One of the most entrancing literary treats of many a year
Enchanting... In the Company of Cheerful Ladies may be the most compelling of the lot
A strong, independent, and endearing model for contemporary women anywhere . . . A crowded fictional genre will have to make room for Precious Ramotswe. In the best sense possible, she's a heavyweight
[Adjoa Andoh's] melodious tones befit these heartwarming tales and she does a fantastis job of creating identifiable voices for each character
Beguiling, lyrical... blessed with McCall Smith's richly detailed portraits of life in Africa and his flair for storytelling with an engaging cast of fully realized characters
Adjoa Andoh reads like a dream
Forget the library - the body is in the mud hut. An African Miss Marple created by a Scottish lawyer . . . superb
McCall Smith's style melts words into instant meaning and the music of all the novel's principal voices is a chorus you cannot resist
